Small changes, big difference

Louise Edwards

It’s spring here in Australia, which always brings on a bad case of “rearrangitis”. We move armchairs around, shift rugs, change cushion covers and reorientate beds (often late at night when the house is silent…. and there’ll be no objection to any new arrangements!)

Here are some easy, cheap and quick small changes we make a couple of times a year, every year.

Swap cushion covers. We have some extra covers to mix it up in the new season. This year, we’re adding in some cool tones – just loving blue and green together! It’s going to be lighter and brighter around here.

Chop it like it’s hot.

Change blankets on bed and throws if you’re inclined. To white. An all-white bed in summer heat can’t be beat.

Does anything say summer like a stripe?

Change or rearrange your artwork. Super quick and satisfies a need for change without leaving the kids with grandma and heading to Ibiza. Sometimes we just swap prints over, keeping the same frame.

This simple black frame lives in the kitchen, but gets a different print every few months.

Use books for colour. An oldie but a goodie. A stack of similar toned books is a great way to inject colour and personality into a room. This spring, our side tables are seeing blue.

The only time it’s perfectly reasonable to judge a book by its cover.

But don’t throw the throws! Keep texture in your spring/summer collection. We have 14 (yep, 14!) throws, which are on rotation. As well as draping them over armchairs in the living room, we love a throw over the backs of outdoor chairs – it’s a cheeky thumbs up to spend the afternoon-into-evening drinking rose outside.